Sarah Silverman Considering Adoption Makes Me Respect The Crap Out Of Her

I’ll admit that Sarah Silverman hasn’t always been at the top of my list of favorite people, or even someone whose career I follow as closely as I should, but I have to give her serious props for having such open-minded, intelligent views on adoption, and being able to explain them so eloquently.

“I don’t want kids. I’d love to adopt someday and I have a lot of adoption in my family… I know that I have this depression and that it’s in my family. Every family has their stuff but, for me, I just don’t feel strong enough to see that in a child.”

Is it just me, or is it super-refreshing to hear a celebrity speak so candidly about their lives? Good for her for admitting that her family struggles with depression — I think most families do, but few are brave enough to speak about it and to attempt to measure the impact that it might have on future generations. Particularly when so many deserving kids are in need of homes, Sarah says she can’t understand why more people don’t turn to adoption, making the connections to people who adopt animals in LA:

“We live in Los Angeles, where everybody is like, ‘Don’t get your dog from a breeder, get your dog from a shelter…’ and I agree, but don’t get your people from a breeder. There are human puppies in shelters and it’s odd that that never seems to be a connection that people make.”

I have a new-found love for this lady. She seems to have a really good awareness of herself and the world around her, with surprisingly mature opinions about her responsibilities to the world around her. I guess because some of her comedy is so vulgar, I tricked myself into assuming she was immature, but this is some of the most intelligent stuff I’ve ever heard a celebrity say. I’m super impressed. She goes on to say:

“If you’re not OK with yourself… it’s easier to love a dog than a person in need because you don’t see all the things you hate about yourself reflected back in the eyes of a dog. If Africa was full of springer spaniels dying of AIDS and starvation we’d probably take care of it in a day.”

It’s an interesting point. And again, very mature. Where is all this knowledge-dropping coming from, Sarah Silverman? You seem awesome — can we hang out?